Bottle muff



April 19, 1955 RYAN 2,706,571

BOTTLE MUFF Filed Nov. 4, 194a INVENTOR. 6499044 I ADJ/AN United States Patent BOTTLE MUFF Carroll T. Ryan, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to D & P Engineering Co., Los Angeles, Calif.

Application November 4, 1948, Serial No. 58,331

3 Claims. (Cl. 21512) This invention relates to shielddevices. Its object is to provide a shield for a nursing bottle, adapted to protect the bottle against breakage in the event the bottle is dropped or thrown upon the floor or otherwise sub jected to impact.

, A particular object is to provide a nursing bottle shielding apparatus adapted to' protect the entire bottle against breakage, irrespective of the position in which the bottle may receive a blow. In this respect, the invention c'ontemplates the provision of a shield to receive the main body portion of a bottle together with an annular shield to encircle the neck of the bottle, the exposed portion of the bottle between the two shields being protected by virtue of lying within the extended surface of the two shields.

A further object is to provide a bottle shield of relatively simple and inexpensive construction, and yet one that is very effective in its protective action and maybe readily applied to or removed from a bottle. Another object is to provide such a shield apparatus having effective means for securely griping a bottle to hold the shield in place and yet permitting easy removal of the bottle therefrom.

A further object is to provide a bottle shield having a two-stage cushioning action including an initial stage of soft cushioning through springing of the walls of the shield, and a final'staqe of cushioning involving compression of bumper heads at the extremities of the shield.

Other objects will become apparent in the ensuing specifications and appended drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a nursing bottle equipped with a shielding apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the main shielding sleeve;

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the neck shielding ring; and

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the shielding apparatus with the bottle shown therein in side view.

As an example of one form in which my improved shielding apparatus may be embodied, I have shown in the drawings a set of shielding members adapted to be attached to a nursing bottle 5 of the type having a threaded neck 6 onto which is threaded a cap 7 having a flange 8 for securing against the end of the neck 6 the flange 9 of a nipple 10.

This particular embodiment of the invention includes a neck shielding ring 11 of soft yielding material such as soft rubber adapted to encircle the cap 7 and having an inwardly extending annular flange 12 for covering. the flange 8 of the cap 7. The ring 11 also has a relatively shallow inwardly extending flange 13 adapted to yieldingly grip the lower edge of the cap 7 to retain the ring in place. The ring 11 has a mid-section of frusto-conical shape, diverging to a rim portion 22 of maximum diameter which is at all times the area of initial contact of the ring 11 with any external object. The rim portion 22 overlies an annular internal recess 23, and is therefore of arching cross-sectional shape, so as to provide high cushioning action.

The main body portion of the bottle 5 is protected by a shielding sleeve 14 of thin tubular yielding material such as soft rubber having at its lower end an inwardly extending flange 15. The flange 15 has an upwardly extending annular lip 21 adapted to engage the bottom 2,706,571 Patented Apr. 19, 1955 of the bottle. Adjacent the flange 15 is a radially outwardly projecting annular bead 16 and at the upper end of the sleeve 14 is a radially outwardly projecting annular bead 17. The beads 16 and 17 and the ring 11 function as bumpers to absorb the shock of impact of the bottle against an unyielding object.

The internal diameter of the sleeve 14 is materially larger than the external diameter of the average bottles to be received therein. An annular space 18 will therefore be defined between the sleeve and the bottle received therein. This loose fitting of the sleeve to the bottle has a number of advantages. It makes it extremely easy to insert the bottle and remove it from the sleeve. Attempts to fit the sleeve closely to the surface of the bottle have resulted in'extreme difficulty in inserting the bottle and removing it from the sleeve. Being of rubber or other equivalent yielding material, the sleeve, when snugly fitting the bottle, will hug the bottle so tightly as to make it almost impossible to remove the bottle therefrom. Anoher advantage of this loose fitting is that it actually improves the shock absorbing qualities of the sleeve. A further advantage is that of adjustability to bottles of slightly varying diameters. It will be readily apparent that any attempt to fit the sleeve closely to the bottle would, in the case of a slightly oversize bottle, require the sleeve to be actually stretched in order to insert the bottle therein and this would multiply the difficulties of insertion and removal of the bottle from the sleeve. Conversely, it would, in the absence of provision of suitable means for causing the sleeve to adhere to the bottle, result in the sleeve dropping off an undersized bottle.

The present invention makes it possible to utilize the loose fitting of the bottle in the sleeve and at the same time to provide for suflicient adherence of the sleeve to the bottle to avoid accidental separation of the sleeve from the bottle. This is accomplished by one or more annular beads 19 projecting inwardly from the inner surface of the sleeve 14 and engaging the surface of the bottle. The beads 19 are spaced axially from the bumper bead 16, and the yieldability of the relatively thin annular wall of the sleeve 14 between the bead 16 and adjacent bead 19 permits the beads 19 to stretch or contract in order to conform to slightly varying bottle diameters. At the same time, the area of contact of the beads 19 with the bottle is sufiiciently small, and the rounded cross sectional shape of the beads 19 is such that the grip of the beads against the bottle is relatively moderate and can easily be overcome by a slight pull exerted against the bottle by one hand while the lower bumper bead 16 is held between the fingers of the other hand. In this connection, I find that it is much easier to remove the sleeve by gripping the bumper bead 16 than by gripping the sleeve at or above the beads 19. Inward pressure against the bead 16 tends to cause the sleeve to enlarge in the area of the upper bead 19, fulcruming around the lower bead 19, thereby relieving the grip of the upper bead 19 against the bottle and making it necessary to overcome only the grip of the lower bead 19 in sliding the sleeve off the bottle.

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0 A further function of the beads 19 is that of materially increasing the shock absorbing qualities of the lower bumper bead 16. The lower head 19 is sufiiciently close to the bead 16 to maintain with some yielding force the spacing between the bumper bead 16 and the bottle. The resilient material of the sleeve 14 between the lower bead 19 and the bumper bead 16 thus functions as a spring which, by its lateral flexing under pressure applied to the bumper bead 16, absorbs a considerable portion of an impact before the bumper bead 16 actually contacts the wall of the bottle. This absorption is of a very yielding character, but definitely softens the blow that can be transmitted through the bumper 16 to the bottle. In a similar manner, the lip 21 spaces the bottom of the bottle away from the bottom flange 15, so that the latter must flex upwardly before it can transmit a blow to the bottom of the bottle, and such flexing involves a spring action which absorbs shocks with a high degree of cushioning effect. Also, the compressing of the lip 21 under a direct pressure thereagainst, will provide considerable cushioning action. After such initial cushioning has absorbed the initial sharpness of a blow, the balance of the blow may be absorbed by direct compression of the flange against the bottom of the bottle. Similarly, the initial impact of a blow against the side of a bottle will be absorbed by the high cushioning action of the internal ribs 19 and the springing of the material adjacent the bead 16, while the balance of the blow will be taken by direct contact of the inner wall of bead 16 with the side of the bottle, and compression of the bead 16. Thus the shield provides a two-stage cushioning action including an initial stage of soft cushioning followed by a final stage of more resistant cushioning.

For maximum lightness coupled with strength, I provide external beads 20 in the wall of the sleeve 14, extending between and joined to the respective bumper beads 16 and 17. The beads 20 serve the dual function of reinforcing the sleeve 14 against tearing under tension strains and, 1n addition, providing some bumper effect, projecting beyond the surface of the wall 14 so as to be the first to engage an extraneous object and to cushion the blow by compression before the blow is transmitted to the wall 14. The wall of course also acts as a cushioning medium.

The material of the shielding members may be soft rubber, synthetic rubber, or any material having comparable compressibility and cushioning qualities. For example, some of the softer synthetic resins of the vinyl class may be employed, although with somewhat less effectiveness. The degree of hardness of the rubber may range from that of substantial pure gum rubber, as it exists for example in rubber bands or inner tubes for pneumatic tires, to that of tire tread rubber, but I prefer to employ a rubber of a consistency intermediate these two extremes, i. e. roughly midway between the two extremes.

In addition to its function of protecting a bottle against breakage, the invention also provides heat insulation to keep a nursing bottle and its contents warm.

I claim:

1. Shielding means for a nursery bottle comprising: a generally cylindrical sleeve of soft compressible resilient material such as soft rubber, having at one end a bottom, having, at a level spaced from but near said bottom, an internal bead to grip the wall of said bottle to cause said sleeve to adhere to the bottle, having a relatively smooth, cylindrical inner wall, free of any inward projection, extending with substantially uniform diameter larger than that of the bottle and larger than that of said bead, from said bead to the other end of the bottle, and defining at said other end, an opening as large in diameter as that of said inner wall, whereby the body of said bottle may be readily inserted through said opening and received within said sleeve without being subjected to retarding engagement with said inner wall, and whereby, upon encountering said bead, the bottle may be readily pushed through the narrowed space encircled thereby, expanding said head so that said head will grip the bottle with a minimum area of engagement, adequate to cause the sleeve to adhere to the bottle, but readily releasable to allow the bottle to be easily removed from the sleeve.

2. Shielding means as defined in claim 1, wherein said sleeve includes annular bumpers at its respective ends and an intermediate portion much thinner than said bumpers and disposed radially inwardly thereof, the bumper at the bottom end being of arched cross section including a side portion spaced from the side wall of the bottle, a portion arching downwardly from said side portion and inwardly beneath and spaced from the bottom of the bottle, and an upwardly extending flange at the inner margin of said last mentioned portion, said flange abutting the bottom of the bottle and defining a central opening in the bottom of said sleeve.

3. Shielding means for a nursery bottle having a nipple securing cap, said shielding means comprising a sleeve as defined in claim 1 and, in combination therewith, a separate annular bumper having an axially extending rim adapted to receive the periphery of said nipple cap and a radially inwardly extending annular flange adapted to overlie the top of said nipple cap, said flange defining an opening through which the nipple may project.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,188,904 Cosgriflf June 27, 1916 1,381,071 Flannery June 7, 1921 1,424,667 Murch Aug. 1, 1922 1,589,138 Fisk June 15, 1926 1,601,888 Sico Oct. 5, 1926 1,690,509 Thoreson et al. Nov. 6, 1928 1,772,339 Cole Aug. 5, 1930 1,890,323 Glaeser Dec. 6, 1932 2,093,130 Kurkjian Sept. 14, 1937 2,115,654 Swolford Apr. 26, 1938 2,150,835 Kazimirow Mar. 14, 1939 2,489,773 Hall Nov. 29, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 29,402 Great Britain Dec. 19, 1910 

